Description
This fabulous white has all the seduction and appeal you could possibly want from an old vine expression showing amplified aromatics of crunchy white peaches, green apple pastille, grated limes and a dusty, granitic liquid minerality. On the palate, Ian Naude has managed to coax out the most regal of the old vine Colombard characteristics, revealing an impressively linear, taut mid-palate texture, crisp crystalline green fruit notes and a clarity as pure as freshly driven snow.
With just enough glycerol weight and effusive acidity, this wine will not only make the perfect stand alone aperitif white but will also be a champion food matching partner. Drink from release or cellar comfortably for 3 to 8+ years. (95/100 Greg Sherwood MW)
Producer Information: Naude Wines
Ian Naude's winemaking career was a matter of happenstance. His father's dairy farm included some vineyards, and to put them to use he began as an apprentice winemaker. It was not long before he consecrated his career to winemaking, managing, despite South Africa's stigma of apartheid, to secure positions throughout the world's viticultural areas. For a decade, he worked harvests in France, Germany, Italy, Israel and the United States, including a few years in Sonoma with Robert Young and in the Columbia Valley with Hogue Cellars. Taking advantage of opposing seasons, he returned periodically to work harvests in South Africa.
After many years hard graft at other wineries, Ian finally branched out fulltime with his own Naude Family Wines venture. A quiet and modest genius, Ian is regarded as one of the finest winemakers in South Africa and recent awards confirm this. 2020 was Ian’s most successful year to date winning his first 5 Star Platter Wine Award and also saw two Naude whites ranked in the Decanter Top 100 Wines of the Year. Master of the white blend and champion of Old Vines in South Africa, Ian is finally receiving the global recognition and rave reviews he so deserves.